A "Rare pair"

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NVBigEd

New member
I picked these up last week.... I had never seen or heard of either of them before, but they were so unusual and interesting, I "just did it"...

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Both came complete with original boxes and papers. They are in amazing shape, that "special" finish does a great job of preventing those surface marks that the bead blasted stainless finishes pick up so easy.
 
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sigcurious

New member
They certainly look nice. What model are they? What shop had those? I might need to expand the rounds with interesting things like that around town(assuming you're in LV like your loc says).
 
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NVBigEd

New member
One is a model 5906 Modelo Militar, from what little I can find out about it, there were 500 of them made with @ 320 being sold to a couple of South American companies. The balance were kept at S&W for a while and then sold to Lew Horton for distribution.

The other is a model 4566 which features the same "Melonite" finish that the Modelo Militar sports. It's a super hard coating which makes the stainless steel nearly scratch proof and extremely resistant to holster wear. The 4566 Melonites were certainly "special order" items.... This one is supposed to have come from New England LEO agency that had ordered them for maritime patrol.

These came from a local collector, not from a shop. I di live in the Las Vegas area and my favorite shop in the valley is Spurlock's Gun Shop in Henderson. Rance is the owner and he often has nice used guns for consideration.
 
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sigcurious

New member
I've only been to Spurlock's once for a quick check of their reloading supplies. I'll have to check them out again.
 
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carguychris

New member
Is the M5906 chambered in 9mm Luger? I've heard that S&W built some in 9mm Largo, but perhaps I'm confusing the Modelo Militar with a model built for the South American commercial market.

What does the legend on the RH side of the M5906 slide say? I can't make it out in the photo. I'm curious whether it says that the decocker automatically returns to the "Fire" position (like the M4566), or if it says "CAUTION - PISTOL IS CAPABLE OF FIRING WITH MAGAZINE REMOVED", i.e. it lacks a mag disconnect.

Of course, logic dictates that the legend should be written in Spanish, but I suppose S&W may have added it when they decided to release the pistols for American commercial sale; the text appears to start with "CAUTION" rather than "CUIDADO", and products intended for soldiers generally aren't slathered in liability disclaimers since the intended users presumably realize that this stuff is dangerous! :)

Also, it's interesting that the M5906 has the serial number repeated on the barrel and slide. This is not standard S&W practice, but it makes perfect sense from a military standpoint, since the pistols could be disassembled in groups.
 
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NVBigEd

New member
Is the M5906 chambered in 9mm Luger? I've heard that S&W built some in 9mm Largo, but perhaps I'm confusing the Modelo Militar with a model built for the South American commercial market.
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It's 9mm Luger.

What does the legend on the RH side of the M5906 slide say? I can't make it out in the photo. I'm curious whether it says that the decocker automatically returns to the "Fire" position (like the M4566), or if it says "CAUTION - PISTOL IS CAPABLE OF FIRING WITH MAGAZINE REMOVED", i.e. it lacks a mag disconnect.
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It's the same warning as is on the 4566. I "believe" it has a magazine safety, but I'm not "sure"... I'll verify this evening.

Of course, logic dictates that the legend should be written in Spanish, but I suppose S&W may have added it when they decided to release the pistols for American commercial sale; the text appears to start with "CAUTION" rather than "CUIDADO", and products intended for soldiers generally aren't slathered in liability disclaimers since the intended users presumably realize that this stuff is dangerous!
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It's odd, but the only thing in Spanish is the "Modelo Militar".... Everything else is in English. I'm not "positive", but I've read that 500 of these were produced to compete for some contract and were unsuccessful. The company then sold some of them to some South American countries. I think they were laser etched with the name then.
 
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NVBigEd

New member
The model 59 would be it's Grandpa.... The 59 is a blued finished carbon steel gun. This is 2 generations later with a unique finish.

But they are definately related.
 
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carguychris

New member
The model 59 would be it's Grandpa.... This is 2 generations later with a unique finish.
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Yup; FYI the changes are...
  • Separate screw-on grip panels and pinned mainspring retainer replaced with 1-piece pinned wraparound hard plastic grip with integral mainspring retainer
  • RH-side ambidextrous decocker/safety lever
  • Trigger-actuated firing pin block for safer DA/safety-off carry
  • Beveled mag well
  • Barrel bushing eliminated
  • Conventional dovetailed rear sight rather than odd swiveling "lollipop" design
  • Dovetailed and easily replaceable front sight
  • Checkered front trigger guard
  • Later 3rd-gen pistols like these ones have MIM hammers and triggers; these can be spotted by the "step" at the top of the trigger and the recesses in the sides of the hammer spur
  • Magazines redesigned for easier disassembly
  • Various minor internal refinements
FWIW 59-series 3rd-gen guns with a model number ending in "6" have a stainless steel frame rather than the alloy frame used on the M59. The 3rd-gen alloy-frame equivalent of the M59 was the M5904. It was also available with a stainless slide and matching silver color alloy frame as the M5903.
 
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FloridaVeteran

New member
Minor question - my Model 59 had an ambidextrous safety/decocker - is the one on the 4566 different? Only reason I remember that is that the screw on the right side was coming loose while I was shooting it with my son (it's his) a couple of years ago. Traded for it around 1974-75 - best I recall it was the first hi-cap double action, or at least US made and 9mm, on the market. A beveled mag well would have been nice, and I wasn't convinced of the durability of the alloy frame so fired it very little, then into the safe.
 
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NVBigEd

New member
The slide mounted decocker is ambidextrous on the 4566 as well. In the pics I posted, both sides of each gun is shown... Although I confused things by swapping the position of the guns in the photos....

Initially the 4566 is on the left and in the next photo it's on the right.... It seemed like a good idea at the time....
 
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carguychris

New member
...my Model 59 had an ambidextrous safety/decocker... Only reason I remember that is that the screw on the right side was coming loose while I was shooting it...
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I've never seen a M59 with a screw-on RH-side decocker/safety, but they were used on the 2nd-gen x59- and x69-series guns, and I suppose the parts could be swapped over to the 1st-gen M59.

The troublesome (and ugly!) Phillips-head attachment screw was retired late in the 2nd-gen model run. The later 2nd-gen and all 3rd-gen pistols use a spring-loaded plunger to retain the RH-side lever; it is depressed through the little hole visible in the pictures, allowing the lever to be slid off towards the muzzle.
 
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NVBigEd

New member
SoilworK777 Those pistols are seriously awesome. If you don't mind, what did you pay for them?
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Can we just leave it that they were not "cheap"? Both of these are very limited production, @ 500 units for the 5906 and I've never even heard an estimate on the number of 4566s in melonite, and with rarity comes price.

Just for example, the "Blue Book of Gun Values" shows the Modelo Militar to have a 100% premium over a same condition model 5906. I don't know how true that is, but it does reflect the desire ability and rarity of that one. That same book doesn't even list the 4566, I've never seen any "factory information" about the Melonite 4566.

If anyone can educate me more, I would love to learn more about them.
 
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